By the New York Times bestselling author who “hilariously depicts modern dating” (Us Weekly), My Favorite Half-Night Stand is a laugh-out-loud romp through online dating and its many, many fails. Millie Morris has always been one of the guys. A UC Santa Barbara professor, she’s a female-serial-killer expert who’s quick with a deflection joke and terrible at getting personal. And she, just like … terrible at getting personal. And she, just like her four best guy friends and fellow professors, is perma-single.
So when a routine university function turns into a black tie gala, Mille and her circle make a pact that they’ll join an online dating service to find plus-ones for the event. There’s only one hitch: after making the pact, Millie and one of the guys, Reid Campbell, secretly spend the sexiest half-night of their lives together, but mutually decide the friendship would be better off strictly platonic.
But online dating isn’t for the faint of heart. While the guys are inundated with quality matches and potential dates, Millie’s first profile attempt garners nothing but dick pics and creepers. Enter “Catherine”–Millie’s fictional profile persona, in whose make-believe shoes she can be more vulnerable than she’s ever been in person. Soon “Catherine” and Reid strike up a digital pen-pal-ship…but Millie can’t resist temptation in real life, either. Soon, Millie will have to face her worst fear–intimacy–or risk losing her best friend, forever.
Perfect for fans of Roxanne and She’s the Man, Christina Lauren’s latest romantic comedy is full of mistaken identities, hijinks, and a classic love story with a modern twist. Funny and fresh, you’ll want to swipe right on My Favorite Half-Night Stand.
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I’ve been trying to up my romance intake lately, so after hearing @danielle’s pitch for this book AND hearing Christina Lauren talk about writing, I knew I had to pick this up. Reader, are you looking for a fun ensemble cast that would put New Girl to shame? Are you looking for dirty jokes, dating app hijinks, and steamy hookups? Look no further. Also, I LOVED that in this romance, Millie (the female lead) is the one who is closed off and struggling to mature emotionally and Reid (her guy best friend) is the one trying to get her to open up and be more emotionally vulnerable. I was rooting for these nerds the whole way! I feel like I say this every time I read a romance novel but jeez, can Netflix adapt this one???
A perfect, perfect friends to lovers romantic comedy. (Sexy, but not overwhelmingly so.)
The dialogues were brilliant and witty, the chemistry off the charts, but what I loved most were the group’s dynamics between this close knit of friends. Honestly, I wanted them to become my best friends too. With a one-month baby it’s hard to find the time to read, but this book compelled me to. I was hooked from the start and it was difficult to ever put it down until I finished. (And if you ever had kids you know how hard it is to give up sleep, but this story made me want to…)
Hilarious, highly entertaining, and just plain addictive.
I loved the characters in this book–loved that although the heroine knew she was emotionally closed off, that wasn’t an automatic ah-ha that turned everything rightside up.
This book had been in my TBR pile for FOREVER, so when I snagged a library copy I knew I had to read it right away (that, and it meant there was a due date…). I had read and enjoyed The Unhoneymooners, but it always felt a little cliche, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. BUT I LOVED IT.
Millie is a professor of criminology who spend her little spare time with her best group of guy friends (inherited from an ex-boyfriend). When Millie and Reid end up spending (half) a night together, it brings out an interest that neither had realized. Determined to put those sparks on the back burner, all five of their gang commit to trying online dating in order to secure dates to an upcoming event. In an effort to be more open with her emotions in a safe space, Millie creates her profile using her middle name. But then she matches with Reid…
This book was just so frothy and happy and light you want to give it a big squeeze of a hug. Millie and Reid and the entire cast of characters are just so wonderful you wish you could be a part of their crew. This book takes the classic friends to lovers trope but adds in so many more layers and supremely likable characters with sense of humor that’ll have you on the floor that it became impossible to put down (what time is it?). The style of online dating used feels slightly dated, but I understand its necessity for the plot and I would love this book to smithereens if only they would get rid of those absolutely STUPID character drawings next to the texts in the group chat transcripts. They are so completely unnecessary and take me out of the wonderfully created world the authors have set up. PUBLISHERS, IF YOU’RE LISTENING, PLEASE CUT THESE IN THE NEXT PRINTING. I know Christina Lauren have a whole host of books and I cannot wait to get my hands on another…
A wonderful friends to lovers romance with lots of humor. Most enjoyable.
The Christina Lauren writing team are an auto-buy for me. Loved this one. Light, fun, and had a great cast of characters.
Witty and downright priceless, My Favorite Half-Night Stand is not a simple friends to lovers romance, but a rapidly swinging pendulum of emotions!
Millie Morris is living every girl’s dream, surrounded by four single intelligent men who aren’t lacking in the looks department. Except she isn’t really. The relationship between all of them is strictly platonic. She’s just one of the guys. She’s Millie, their best friend… until a glass of wine that never stays empty and what I will refer to as “Dish Gate” allows her to see one friend quite differently.
Millie was guarded and definitely not a sharer or an emotionally expressive person, and with Reid being more of a beta type hero he often followed her lead which kept their best friends to lovers, not lovers, back to best friends—ship spinning uncontrollably in the atmosphere with no point of orgin for the gravitationally pull between the two. Yet, Reid Campbell was just so refreshing and with the first glimpse inside of his head I was captivated! Yes, the guy who works way too much, constantly questioning things, and no alpha bone in his body—he just wouldn’t escape my thoughts.
Filled with laughs and the exploration of a bestfriends to lovers romance, Christina Lauren has penned a novel that gives us insight into the woes of online dating.
My Favorite Half-Night Stand is pure romance and pure comedy!
Fun and engaging, My Favorite Half-Night Stand features 5 best friends who venture out together into the world of online dating. The characters include Millie and her platonic guy friends: Reid, Chris, Alex, and Ed. They are all each others’ makeshift little family, and it works. When the university where they are all employed expects them to attend a black tie affair, they scramble for plus ones. Since they spend all their time either working or with each other, most of them have little time to meet potential dates. That’s where online dating comes in. When you need a quick fix, reach out to the world wide web, right?
Co-authors: Christina Lauren have created an interesting storyline that ebbs and flows and evolves into a whole other creation. With online dating as a consistent backdrop, once platonic besties: Millie and Reid begin to explore a little something more with each other, but one of them finds that vulnerability comes easier from behind a keyboard. Perfect for fans of You’ve Got Mail, My Favorite Half-Night Stand explores modern-day relationships with humor, intelligence, and emotion. I enjoyed how each of the characters were developed in their own unique way, and they all supported each other even when they felt like they were dropped in the middle of a relationship maze with no clear way out. It shows that family will always be there for you, even a makeshift family of data-driven university professors. An easy and fast read that many readers will enjoy. Check it out!
Thank you to the following for permitting me access to an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of My Favorite Half-Night Stand. This generosity did not impact my honesty when rating/reviewing.
Source: NetGalley
Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books – Gallery Books
Genres: General Fiction (Adult)
Pub Date: December 4, 2018
My Review:
I really and truly loved this book. I’ve been a fan of most of Christina Lauren’s releases, but something about this book just hit perfection for me. I honestly think it’s because this group of five friends (four guys and Millie) is simply perfection. As I read, I kept laughing out loud and explaining to hubby about what was happening in the book…simply because I was enjoying the story so much, I wanted to share it with someone.
This story is about a group of five friends who just all happen to be university professors together…and they are awesome. It’s four guys and Millie, the ex-girlfriend of one of the guys who used to also hang out with these guys. But when she and the guy broke up, she managed to be the one who kept his friends. She’s kind of epic that way.
But out of all the guys in this little group, Millie has always been closest with Reid…and one drunken night, she gets even closer. But they aren’t romantically involved. They’re just best friends who just happened to have incredible sex. Millie blows it off. If there’s anything that Millie is good at, it’s being able to not take things too seriously. Millie doesn’t get into deep emotions with anything…she’s certainly not going to start with Reid. (And there’s some great back-story for her to explain exactly why she’s this way.)
In the meantime, the whole group of friends has signed up on a dating app together which results in many, many of the laugh out loud moments in the book. Seriously, the text exchanges alone in this book make it read-worthy. I loved it so, so much. But there’s emotion below the surface of all that humor, too and that’s what makes this book phenomenal.
I loved the book. I loved the set-up. I loved the group dynamic. And the characters were some of the best-written ones I’ve ever read.
I highly, highly, highly recommend this book!
I received a copy of this book in return for an honest and voluntary review, and then I bought a print copy so I could have it in my re-read library.
I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
First of all, I love reading these kinds of stories! There’s a fine line between cute/endearing and annoying/eye-roll-inducing and it’s so easy to veer towards the latter. Fortunately, Christina Lauren did an amazing job of avoiding the saccharine, unrealistic characterizations that plague this genre.
Millie is delightful! She’s flawed and weird and amazing and I identified with her more than I was comfortable (and way more than I expected). The whole cast of guys were individual and meshed really well together. Reid sounds too sexy and sweet for his own good.
I think what I most appreciated was the depth lurking throughout the story. It carries more weight than just a beach read and I enjoyed that a lot.
I’d recommend this to anyone who:
– has lots of platonic relationships of the opposite sex (maybe it’ll be eye-opening?)
– is looking for more substance from their vacation reading
– enjoys contemporary romance
Why can’t i give it more stars on here! because it totally deserves 10 stars 🙂 it was pee your pants funny and so sweet and crazy good all at once ! i am in love with all the characters in this book and i wished it was like another 300 pages because it was so good i didn’t want it to end!
DO YOURSELVES A FAVOR AND READ THIS BOOK NOW !
Omg Millie is like the best character ,i mean you can really relate to her ,from her humor to her being so closed off about real feelings ,she is one of the most real characters i’ve ever read 🙂 i loved her relationship with Reid ,you could tell it was different then the one she has with the other guys in this book and i thought it was a great add ,i mean you could already see how good they would be for each other ,they share a connection and all it took was a half night stand and a bit of cattfishing to bring them together ! also loved all the serial killer facts and how Miller would bring them up 🙂
Omg i think Reid might be the perfect guy ! he’s funny,sweet,smart and holy hotness batman the man is smoking (whew fanning myself as i write this review ) i loved everything about him ,you could see he really wanted to have a real connection with Millie and he was really hurt when she didn’t open up like he needed her to and it almost cost them their friendship and the deeper relationship that was developing , but Millie started getting help because she knew what she has with Reid is worth fighting for and working though her issues was the first big step 🙂 they were made for each other ! 98% sure 🙂
I loved all the other guys too Ed was so funny ,I loved Chris (kinda wanted to read about his relationship with Reid’s sister ) also Alex and all his dark room escapades would have been a great bonus story (wink wink)
So this book is funny, romantic, angsty and has a great group of friends as the characters. I loved Millie even though she wouldn’t listen to my internal ramblings of advice to “not do it!” I loved Reid as serious book boyfriend material. He was such a good friend, son and person.
The reason I read this book is because I am currently into internet romances, texting romances, and (like this one) dating app romances. I like the veil of anonymity that lets the right people be more open. Of course, it often spells disaster is some way, but the books would be short if things worked out well.
I really enjoyed the story and hope there are more about Chris, Alex and Ed.
I was a little worried when I started this one, as my expectations are always high when picking up a CL novel, and I wasn’t fully connecting at the beginning. I feel the first third of the book was setting up the scene, or letting us get to know all the characters – five work colleagues – and showing the dynamic of them all. This of course is important, but it just creeped along. The second third was more exciting and I now know where everyone fits in and all their quirks. The last third had me not wanting to put this down and needing to know how they resolve the dilemma. So I really shouldn’t have worried at all, because I fell in love with Reid and Millie as well as the rest of the gang. Naturally there was plenty of laughs as well as excitement.
What happens in our childhood can shape us and we become a product of that environment. Millie lost her mother to cancer at an early age, an age when a 12 year old needs her mother to guide her into womanhood. Unfortunately Millie not only had to handle that all by herself, but help her father raise the youngest sibling and keep things running in the house. And because of this, and the way her dad dealt with the loss of his wife, they didn’t talk about it, their feelings were put to the side and got on with life. So now that Millie is in her late 20’s, and she decides to try online dating along with her buddies, she can’t seem to go too deep with her emotions. Reid loves everything about Millie but this fact, he wants someone he can talk to as well as be intimate with. He is conflicted between Millie and his online woman who is a near perfect match for him.
Despite the slow beginning, and thoroughly enjoyed this book. The bond this group have is to be envied. To be perfectly honest, the one I probably connected with the most is Reid’s mother and the way she loves having her kids around her constantly – that just never gets old for me – but I adored Millie and her insecureness. I appreciated how she took accountability of her actions and measures to heal herself. But Reid was my favourite, how could he not be. He was attentive, sensitive and loyal, so when he felt that loyalty wasn’t reciprocated with the whole gang, he was hurt. I loved that he gave Millie time and didn’t just ride her off as some neurotic woman. I also felt the epilogue gave me an insight to how their life would develop beyond the last sentence.
This was a fun read, though not my favorite CL book. The writing was excellent as always, the humor a bit hit-or-miss for me (also par for the course), and I really liked the group of friends, especially Reid. Millie, on the other hand, was quite frustrating at times.
I want to start this review out by stating that there are some Christina Lauren books that I absolutely love and adore. Literally, like I’d love to hug the books because I loved them so much. Unfortunately, this wasn’t one of the ones that I absolutely loved as much as the previous. Don’t get me wrong, this was a cute rom-com and a very quick read. I was able to read this story in one setting. I just wish I had felt some more development between Reid and Millie before the story started to progress. I didn’t get that intense connection I was hoping to feel when reading this book. It definitely has more of light rom-com feel to it so just be prepared for that. It still is one of the Christina Lauren’s style type writing with more of a text feel so it definitely has a more modern feel to it 🙂
#avidreaderbookblog #readingislife #bookblogger #bookaddict #bookworm #chicklit #friendstolovers #read #romance #sexualtension #steamy #witty #sweet
I loved this book all those descriptors up there are it ! Christina Lauren has not disappointed me yet!
I loved it!
I loved the characters. Every single one of them brought something to the table, so it didn’t seem like it was just up to the leads to carry the story.
I would gladly spend more than one night with this crew.
It was full on adorable, full of banter and full on entertainment. There is nothing half about it!
Loved this book!!! Must read.
I love reading books about characters that are a bit like…eh…me. Let’s just say, the romance genre can do with some quirky people, and you can find some of them in My Favorite One Night Stand. Thank you C & L for taking me back a few years and dunking me straight into the modern dating apocalypse. This was such a fun read, and I suspect Reid is my all-time favorite book boyfriend. Well, for now at least. 🙂
review on my blog
https://www.emilythebooknerd.com/2020/03/my-favorite-half-night-stand.html#more